Working from home would make employees more productive, survey finds

Some 59% of people said they were not allowed to work from home

Heavy traffic on the N11 approachiing Cabinteely in Co Dublin. Two thirds of people surveyed by Three Ireland expressed frustration at their long commutes to work. Photograph: Eric Luke
Heavy traffic on the N11 approachiing Cabinteely in Co Dublin. Two thirds of people surveyed by Three Ireland expressed frustration at their long commutes to work. Photograph: Eric Luke

Some 59 per cent of workers in Ireland claim they would be more productive if they were able to work remotely or from home, a new survey has found.

A similar percentage of 1,000 people surveyed by Amárach Research for telecoms company Three Ireland said they were not allowed to work from home.

However, more than half believe that working remotely will become more popular in future, according to the research.

“What came out of this survey is that people are looking for greater work-life balance,” said Eoin MacManus, business and enterprise director at Three Ireland. “Over 60 per cent of the people that responded said that they’d see a significant increase in their work-life balance if they were able to work remotely.”

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Growing trend

Mr MacManus said that a growing trend of companies allowing employees to work remotely from their offices is also being underpinned as businesses, particularly in large cities, face rising rent costs.

He said a growing awareness of the need to address climate change and unnecessary journeys was likely to prompt companies to look increasingly at setting up policies to allow staff to work remotely. Two out of three people that took part in the survey also expressed frustration about their long commute to work.

The survey found that almost 80 per cent of people who are allowed to work from home have access to the necessary online connectivity.

Joe Brennan

Joe Brennan

Joe Brennan is Markets Correspondent of The Irish Times